Ayush Shah is 23 and the founder of ANK, a Calgary silver wholesaler exhibiting at TS.TO, the Toronto edition of the Time & Shine Jewellery Trade Show, on 1 and 2 November 2026. His booth is proof that young jewellers in Canada are now building the wholesale side of the trade.
TS.TO Toronto | 1 and 2 November 2026
Meet Ayush Shah and the ANK collection on the floor
Register free for the tradeTrade only. Free. No membership or affiliation required.
Earlier this year, Ayush Shah signed up in Calgary to walk the Edmonton floor and meet the industry. At first, he came as a visitor, curious and ready to learn. Then, this fall, he wrote to us again with his logo, his product photos and a short biography. This time he was booking a booth.
Six months is not long in a business that measures relationships in decades. Still, it was enough for a 23 year old to go from meeting the trade to supplying it. Of course, we are proud to have a front row seat.
Who is Ayush Shah, and what does ANK sell?
Shah started ANK because he believed good jewellery should be within reach of more people. The company sells silver jewellery and chains to retailers. In fact, its chains are priced among the most affordable in the country.
What makes the line worth a closer look, however, is the care behind that price. Most ANK pieces are designed and finished by hand. Moreover, every piece the company ships is rhodium plated, with no exceptions.
Anyone who has stood behind a counter knows why that matters. Rhodium keeps sterling bright and protects it from tarnish, so the chain a customer buys in December still looks new in June. As a result, an affordable silver line can sit comfortably beside fine jewellery.
The range also reaches well beyond chains. For example, ANK makes stone set pendants in the hip hop tradition, from a snarling pitbull and a grinning money bag to a fully set watch face and a polished ankh. Signet rings and halo earrings with green and purple centre stones round out the line.
Shah is one of the youngest entrepreneurs in Canadian jewellery wholesale. Even so, he has built his company on the things this trade has always respected: fair value, honest workmanship and a supplier who picks up the phone.
Why does Canadian Jeweller Magazine keep covering young jewellers?
Canadian Jeweller has been published since 1879, and in all that time the most important story has stayed the same. One generation teaches the next, and the trade carries on. Over the past year, therefore, we decided to tell that story out loud. Our history is told in the oldest jewellery magazines in the world.
In December 2025, our Generation Next issue put Victor Commisso on the cover. At 23, he was leading Sabatini Jewellery, the business his grandparents built half a century ago. Then, in April 2026, the cover belonged to Danny Sapir, President of Westrock Diamonds.
A few weeks later, the Awards of Excellence 2026 honoured the same energy. Commisso was named Best Young Jeweller and Sapir took Entrepreneur of the Year. Meanwhile, Hijran Ali Boyaci of West Gold & Diamonds won Best Hip Hop Jewellery. Indeed, that category honours a design language many younger customers wear with pride. In fact, our April issue had already followed that style from its roots in the Bronx to its growing following in Edmonton.
| Date | Moment | Who |
|---|---|---|
| December 2025 | Cover, Generation Next issue | Victor Commisso, Sabatini Jewellery |
| April 2026 | Cover, April issue | Danny Sapir, Westrock Diamonds |
| April 2026 | Best Young Jeweller, Awards of Excellence | Victor Commisso, Sabatini Jewellery |
| April 2026 | Best Hip Hop Jewellery, Awards of Excellence | Hijran Ali Boyaci, West Gold & Diamonds |
| April 2026 | Entrepreneur of the Year, Awards of Excellence | Danny Sapir, Westrock Diamonds |
| November 2026 | Exhibitor, TS.TO Toronto | Ayush Shah, ANK |
The full list of winners is in our 2026 Canadian Jeweller Awards report.
What changes when young jewellers in Canada reach the wholesale side?
Until recently, most young jewellers in Canada worked in retail. Sons and daughters took over family stores and brought Instagram, CAD design and late night customer messages into businesses built on handshakes. Customers saw that change first because it happened right in front of them.
Wholesale, however, asks more of a young founder. A wholesaler buys inventory before a single order arrives and offers terms to retailers. He also has to earn the trust of store owners who were in business before he was born. Shah took on all of that at 23, and the whole supply chain is stronger for it.
Why does the industry owe young jewellers in Canada a hearing?
Young jewellers in Canada are the breath of our industry, and they are also its heritage in motion. After all, every skill they bring to the bench or the showroom was passed down by someone who loved this work before them.
Seeing that energy reach wholesale gives us, as the industry’s publication of record, a greater responsibility to listen. This generation sells on platforms their parents never used and answers customers at midnight. In turn, they expect their suppliers to keep up. How they work today will shape Canadian jewellery for decades. For that reason, their ideas deserve a real place in our conversation.
How can the industry keep young jewellers in Canada in the trade?
We should be honest about where we stand. Our industry faces a succession crisis. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business found that 76 per cent of small business owners plan to exit within ten years. In addition, more than $2 trillion in assets is at stake. Yet only 9 per cent have a formal succession plan (CFIB, 2023). Nobody tracks the ages of jewellery business owners in Canada. Still, anyone who walks a show floor can see that many benches and showrooms will change hands soon.
Training support is uneven, too. Ontario pays employers up to $17,000 to train a goldsmith, while nine provinces pay nothing because they do not recognise the work as a trade (Canadian Jeweller). So much of the work of welcoming young jewellers in Canada falls to us.
The good news is that every one of us can help, and most of it costs very little. First, stock a young supplier’s line and give it room in your showcase. Next, take on an apprentice at the bench. Also, bring a junior employee to the next show and introduce them to the people who taught you. Finally, nominate a young talent for the Awards of Excellence. Small gestures like these show a young person that there is a future here, and that they belong in it.
Everything we have built together, through good years and hard ones, deserves to go on. Young jewellers like Ayush Shah are ready to carry it. Above all, our job is to make room for them.
Where can jewellers meet Ayush Shah in November?
ANK is exhibiting in Toronto only, at TS.TO, the delivery edition of the Time & Shine Jewellery Trade Show. Doors open Sunday 1 November from 10 am to 6 pm and Monday 2 November from 10 am to 3 pm.
TS.TO is the only delivery jewellery trade show in Canada. In other words, buyers leave with stock in hand or receive it within days. Consequently, a chain picked on Sunday can be in the showcase well before the holiday rush. It is the perfect chance to see the rhodium finish up close, feel the handwork and write a first order with the founder himself.
More retailers come to Time & Shine every year. Indeed, over 30 per cent of the Canadian jewellery retail segment attends. This summer, the Edmonton edition welcomed 20 per cent more visitors from five provinces. Registration is free for the trade, with no membership or affiliation required.
Sunday 1 and Monday 2 November | Toronto
Earlier this year, Ayush Shah signed up to meet the industry. In November, the industry gets to meet him.
Register free for the tradeTrade only. Free. No membership or affiliation required.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Ayush Shah?
Ayush Shah is the 23 year old founder of ANK, a Calgary silver jewellery wholesaler. He is one of the youngest entrepreneurs in Canadian jewellery wholesale.
What makes ANK different from other silver wholesalers?
Most ANK pieces are designed and finished by hand, and every piece is rhodium plated with no exceptions. The company prices its chains among the most affordable in Canada.
When and where is TS.TO 2026?
TS.TO runs in Toronto on Sunday 1 November 2026, 10 am to 6 pm, and Monday 2 November 2026, 10 am to 3 pm. The venue is shared with verified trade on registration.
Which young jewellers in Canada won Awards of Excellence in 2026?
Victor Commisso of Sabatini Jewellery won Best Young Jeweller. Hijran Ali Boyaci of West Gold and Diamonds won Best Hip Hop Jewellery, and Danny Sapir of Westrock Diamonds was named Entrepreneur of the Year.
How do jewellers register for TS.TO?
Registration is free for the jewellery trade at app.timeandshineexpo.com. No membership or association affiliation is required.
Sources: ANK company biography (September 2026); Canadian Jeweller, Generation Next issue (December 2025) and April 2026 issue; 2026 Canadian Jeweller Awards; Canadian Federation of Independent Business, January 2023; Time & Shine Jewellery Trade Show attendance records.
Author: Olivier Felicio
Olivier Felicio is the founder and publisher of Canadian Jeweller Magazine, Canada's jewellery business publication since 1879. He writes on retail strategy, market data, trade policy and the commercial side of the Canadian jewellery and watch trade, and hosts Time and Shine, Canada's jewellery buying event. Contact: olivier@canadianjeweller.com.
